Transcript Chapter 17

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1834 political opponents of President Andrew Jackson organized
a new party to contest Jacksonian Democrats nationally and in the
states.
They were guided by their most prominent leader, Henry Clay,
they called themselves Whigs
The name “Whigs” came from, the name of the English
antimonarchist party-the better to stigmatize the seventh
president as 'King Andrew.'
They were immediately derided by the Jacksonian Democrats as a
party devoted to the interests of wealth and aristocracy, a charge
they were never able to shake completely.
During the party's brief life, it managed to win support from
diverse economic groups in all sections and to hold its own in a
few presidential elections.
◦ William Henry Harrison, the Whig president elected
in 1840, suddenly died after only one month in
office.
◦ Harrison's campaign slogan had been "Tippecanoe
and Tyler Too." Now, with Tippecanoe dead, it was
Tyler's turn to be president.
 John Tyler was not part of the Whig plan. Whig leaders
Henry Clay and Daniel Webster had intended to control
President Harrison. But, Tyler had a strong
independent streak.
 Tyler did not share Whig beliefs. He'd been chosen as
V.P. to "balance the ticket" by attracting elite
Southerners.
◦ John Tyler was a bit of an enigma, very difficult to
figure out.
 He was a Southern gentlemen of the old school, with
high principles.
 He leaned toward Jefferson/Jackson ideals, but disliked
Jackson's my-way-or-highway style. So he went to the
Whigs.
 The Whigs considered him a Democrat in Whig
clothing. And in truth, his ideas did align much more
with the Democrats than with the Whigs.
◦ The Whigs went ahead with their strong nationalistic
plans. Up first was the banking issue.
 Whigs, led by Henry Clay, wanted to end the independent
treasury (where government money was kept in
independent banks). A law was passed to end it, and Tyler
went along and signed it.
 Clay then sought to make a new Bank of the United States.
This time, Tyler vetoed it. He then vetoed another similar
bill.
 Democrats were very happy, the Whigs were furious. The
Whigs kicked Tyler out of the Whig party. Thus he became
a president without a party.
◦ The tariff was the next issue to be bounced around.
 The Whigs passed a tariff bill, but Tyler also vetoed it.
He disliked the fact that the sale of western lands
would be spread around among the states.
 The Whigs took out the offensive part, lowered the
tariff a bit, and Tyler signed the newer tariff bill.
◦ American-English hatred still ran deep and a few
events deepened the wounds.
 A war of words began between writers across the
ocean.
 British lenders were angry when American debtors
couldn't or wouldn't pay up after the Panic of 1837.
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Andrew Jackson, whom Martin Van Buren had served as
secretary of state, vice president, and close adviser, hurt
the federal Second Bank of the United States by moving
federal funds to smaller state banks.
Jackson thought the Bank of the United States hurt ordinary
citizens by exercising too much control over credit and
economic opportunity, and he succeeded in shutting it
down.
But the state banks' reckless credit policies led to massive
speculation in Western lands. (** Speculation is the engagement
in risky business transactions on the chance of quick or considerable
profit**)
By 1837, after Van Buren had become president, banks
were clearly in trouble. Some began to close, businesses
began to fail, and thousands of people lost their land.
◦ Other incidents were more violent.
 The U.S. ship Caroline was attacked above Niagara
Falls by Canadians. America was not pleased.
 Later, a Canadian named McLeod boasted of helping in
the attack, was arrested by Americans, and condemned
to execution. Canada said to carry out the sentence
would be to declare war. He came up with an alibi and
was released.
 Another situation arose in the Bahamas when the
American ship Creole was overtaken by 130 slaves.
The British gave the slaves asylum (safe haven).
Southern Americans were not happy.
◦ A dispute arose over between the U.S. and Britain
over the Maine-Canada border.
 Britain wanted a road built from the Atlantic port of
Halifax through to Quebec.
 The U.S. wanted the land.
◦ The dispute became violent in the Aroostook War,
largely by lumberjacks fighting on each side over
who'd get to chop down the lumber.
◦ The dispute was settled peacefully with the
Webster-Ashburton Treaty between Daniel Webster
and Lord Ashburton.
 The treaty drew a line generally at the Aroostook River
and roughly split the difference of land.
 The U.S. also got the Mesabi range in Minnesota.
Unbeknownst then, the Mesabi iron ore range became
an extremely valuable piece of land and helped supply
the American industrial revolution's need for iron ore
to make steel.
The Texas Dilemma
Sam Houston applied immediately for Texas to be
annexed by the US
– Jackson and Adams ignored his request
• They knew the North would oppose annexation because
Texas would be a slave state
– There was also the issue of possible war with Mexico
if the US annexed Texas
– President John Tyler (1840-1844) tried to annex Texas
• The British were by now in talks with Texas about
annexing the territory (it needed the cotton and it
would protect them from the Mexicans) and Tyler
wanted to block their efforts (the British having
Texas would threaten US rule in America)
◦ Since 1836, Texas was standing alone as its own
country. It was eager to join the U.S., but the North
was reluctant to accept another slave state.
◦ Meanwhile, Texas was making international friends
in Britain, France, Belgium, and Holland. This
concerned the U.S.
◦ The American thinking then wondered that, if Texas
"buddied-up" with England, the results would be…
 American cotton would decline in value since Texas
would supply England.
 The Monroe Doctrine would be undercut because
England would have a toehold in the Americas.
◦ The urge to annex Texas grew. The issues still
were…
 The North decried the Southern "slavocracy" (a
perceived Southern "slave-conspiracy" to always gain
more slave land).
 If the U.S. just outright annexed Texas, the result just
might be a war with Mexico.
 Britain was eager to have an ally in Texas to help
undercut the growing American power.
 The obvious benefits, however, of annexing Texas
would be tons of land and economic possibilities
◦ The indecision came to an end with James K. Polk.
In 1844, Polk ran for president on a very clear proexpansion platform.
◦ His victory was seen as a "mandate" for manifest
destiny (the people essentially voted for expansion).
Early in 1845 Texas was invited to join the U.S. and
did so.
◦ Unsurprisingly, Mexico was not happy and charged
that the U.S. had underhandedly stolen Texas away.
Manifest Destiny
•Belief that the United States is destined to
spread self-advancement, civilization and
democracy across the continent to the
Pacific Ocean.
•It contained racist ideas that it was
acceptable to remove Native Americans
and Mexicans from their land because they
were holding up progress
Underlying Reasons for Manifest Destiny
New Land
– New Domestic Resources for Production
– Domestic Markets for Manufactured Goods
•Purely Economic
•Social and Economic
Western Ports
– Access to Asian markets
Population increase
– Natural & immigration
• Germany & Ireland
– Conflicts over employment - living space
Social / Economic Pressure Valve Theory—(a theory about how to deal with
unemployment . Given the concentration of immigrants (and population) on the Eastern coast, it
was hypothesized that making free land available in the West, would relieve the pressure for
employment in the East. By analogy with steam pressure (= the need for work), the enactment of
a free land law, it was believed, would act as a safety valve.)
Enthnocentrism and Entitlement
– Divine Will
– Free Development - Political Institutions
◦ Oregon was claimed by four nations: Spain, Russia,
England, and the U.S. The first two dropped their
claims leaving England and America.
 England had the earliest claim and a strong one based
on occupation north of the Columbia River.
 The U.S. also had a strong claim based on the
exploration of Capt. Robert Gray along the coast and
Columbia River and Lewis and Clark's expedition into
the heart of the Oregon territory.
◦ For years English and American settlers simply
shared Oregon side-by-side. In the early 1840's,
however, "Oregon fever" struck many Americans
and they followed the Oregon Trail out west.
◦ With the population growing, it was becoming clear
that a settlement must be reached as to who owned
Oregon.
◦ In the election of 1844, James K. Polk defeated
Henry Clay for president.
◦ Polk was known as "Young Hickory" (after Andrew
Jackson) due to his similar beliefs and his birth in
Pineville, NC only some 20 miles from Jackson's
birthplace.
◦ Polk ran on a very clear "Manifest Destiny" platform.
To vote for Polk was to vote for expansion.
 Polk's victory was perceived by him as a "mandate" by
the American people—an order to go ahead with
expansion of the United States.
◦ James K. Polk laid out a 4-point mission for himself
and the nation (then achieved all 4 points in 4
years). His goals were to…
 Lower the tariff.
 Restore the independent treasury (put U.S. money into
non-government banks).
 Clear up the Oregon border issue.
 Get California.
◦ Polk and his Sec. of Treasury Robert J. Walker
lowered the tariff from 32% to 25% with the help of
Southerners in Congress. Northern industrialists
cried foul and warned of economic despair (it never
happened).
◦ The independent treasury was restored despite complaints
of Whigs.
◦ The Oregon border issue was settled. England and the U.S.
asked, "Which latitude is the border of Oregon, as far north
as 54°40' or as far south as 42°?"
 England first answered "42° latitude," then said the "Columbia
River."
 The U.S. first answered "54°40' latitude," ("54-40 or fight!" was
the battle cry), then said "49° latitude."
 Things were tense for a while, but England realized there were
more Americans in Oregon than Brits. British leverage was small
in Oregon and diminishing every day as more and more
Americans were moving out there.
 The agreement was to roughly split the land at the 49th parallel
(excluding Vancouver). Polk agreed and the Senate agreed and it
was final.
 Some Americans wondered why the U.S. would agree to half of
Oregon but push for all of the Mexican lands. The answer was
coldly that England was strong and Mexico was weak.
◦ The final goal, getting California, posed a
problem—it belonged to Mexico.
◦ The American tradition in acquiring land was
forming—(a) the U.S. tries to buy the land, if that
doesn't work, (b) the U.S. would use force. These
are the actions Polk took.
◦ Polk sent John Slidell as an envoy to Mexico City to
make an offer to purchase California for $25
million. Mexico was still upset at the U.S. over
Texas and Slidell was coldly turned away.
◦ The attempt to purchase had failed; it was time for
more aggressive actions.
◦ President Polk wanted action. He ordered 4,000 troops to
the Rio Grande border. Mexico disputed the move saying
the Texas-Mexico border was the Nueces River, not the
Rio Grande.
◦ With "the ball was in their court," Mexico crossed the Rio
Grande and a skirmish followed with the U.S. troops. Polk
could now point to Mexico as the aggressor.
 Polk quickly asked Congress to declare war and Congress
quickly did so.
 A newcomer on the scene was Abraham Lincoln. Abe
questioned the "spot" on which the skirmish took place in his
"spot resolution". He was reluctant to vote for war since he
wanted to know which nation owned the disputed land. He
was largely booed down.
 Arguments flew as to whether Polk had bullied the U.S. into a
war, but never-the-less, America was at war.
◦ Santa Anna "pulled a fast one" on Polk, however. Santa
Anna was exiled in Cuba but hinted that if he was
allowed to return to Mexico he'd double-cross his
country. Polk let him go but he did just the opposite—he
rallied the troops.
◦ The American victory over Mexico was dominating. The
war itself could be divided into 3 main phases…
 Phase 1 - The initial goal was to get California, so that was
the first order of business.
 Gen. Stephen W. Kearny and 1,700 troops marched from Ft.
Leavenworth southward to the present New Mexico/Mexico
border, then he headed west to San Diego. He effectively
marked off the present border of the U.S.
 Kearny was joined in California by Cpt. John C. Fremont who
took California and proclaimed the "Bear Flag Republic".
Commodore Sloat came by boat with the U.S. Navy to secure
California for good.
 Phase 2 - Fighting in Texas saw Gen. Zachary Taylor
score victories, notably at Buena Vista where Santa
Anna was defeated again.
 Phase 3 - Conquest of Mexico City. Gen. Winfield Scott
("Old Rough and Ready") was sent to Mexico City to
deliver the coup d'grace. He retraced Hernando
Cortez's same path from Vera Cruz to Mexico City and
likewise conquered the capital city.
◦ Polk sent a diplomat, Nicholas Trist, along with Gen.
Winfield Scott's army. Trist was to secure a peace deal as
soon as Polk's demands were met.
 Trist was erratic, recalled by Polk, refused to return to
America, and worked a deal anyway.
◦ Trist's deal, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo had a huge
scope…
 It ended the war.
 America got land, the Mexican Cession, entailing California,
but also the future states of NV, AZ, NM, CO, and UT.
 The U.S. would pay $15 million for the land, and assume $3.5
million in debts owed from Mexico to the U.S.
 In essence, the U.S. had forced Mexico to "sell" the Mexican
Cession lands.
◦ America had only 13,000 deaths, mostly by disease.
◦ The Mexican War was good practice for future
generals Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant who'd
one day clash in the Civil War.
◦ The war started a turning point in American-Latin
relations, a turning point for the bad.
◦ The most looming issue after the war was the question,
"What will be done about slavery in these new lands?"
 David Wilmot proposed the Wilmot Proviso suggesting the
Mexican Cession lands be closed to slavery. The House
passed it, twice, but the South would have nothing to do
with the Proviso. Since the Senate was balanced, the Wilmot
Proviso failed in the Senate.
 Although it failed, the importance of the Wilmot Proviso lay in
the fact that it opened old wounds—those of slavery.
 It's this question of slavery in the new lands that would start
the Civil War in 1861, only 13 years later.
◦ Mexico was understandably bitter. Half their lands had
been wrested from them in only a couple of decades.